Torrey Pines is a Beautiful Beast

Torrey Pines Golf Course has been preparing for years to host the US Open, and all that care will make for a challenging but fair contest this week, writes the New York Times. The longest US Open course ever, Torrey South boasts three lengths of rough, poa annua greens, and a firm fairway—and a special connection to the favorites.

Both top-ranked Tiger Woods and No. 2 Phil Mickelson have long histories with Torrey: Woods first won here as a 15-year-old, and San Diego native Mickelson has played these links since before high school. Both men have visited in recent days to take practice runs on the course Greg Norman calls “the toughest, fairest test” in US Open history. (More golf stories.)